Going green: Can we travel the world without killing the...

1of3On the Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa, 30 miles north of Tahiti, the Brando has ensured that all building materials used are of local or certified origin, renewable, or incorporate recycled components.Photo: The Brando

3of3The sun rises over Feynan Ecolodge, which was designed to operate in harmony with its habitat in the Dana Biosphere Reserve in Jordan, and to minimize the impact of tourism on the surrounding natural environment.Photo: Getty Images

They come in the form of small cards, rocks or pieces of wood — the hotel reminders that guests can choose to skip having their towels and sheets washed every day, in a bid to save water and energy. Over the years, they’ve become expected as a base level for a hotel or lodge to show that it’s interested in being environmentally responsible. Guests even notice when, after they have hung their towels to avoid daily washing, they’re still replaced with fresh ones.

How much effect do these hotel linen programs really have?

According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the request alone reduces the number of loads of laundry washed — as well as the related water, sewer, energy and labor costs — by 17 percent. The association also notes that these programs increase the life span of towels and linens, reducing replacement costs.

While swimming pools may be a visible use of water in some resorts, they account for less than one percent of hotel water consumption, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Restrooms present the biggest drain on the resource, accounting for 30 percent of hotel water use. Next are laundry operations and landscaping.

What are hotels doing for the environment besides not washing your towels every day? Many tout themselves as eco properties while also offering single-use bottled water, having coffee pods that aren’t recycled (and often not even having recycling bins in rooms), providing disposable cups and cutlery, and not bothering to use energy-efficient light bulbs. And while it makes financial sense for hotels to go green, how many travelers really make their decisions based on a property’s sustainability practices?

Part of the public confusion about hotel green practices is that we all don’t have the same definition of what makes a hotel environmentally responsible. If a property truly keeps to its once-every-three-days linen program, installs low-flow showerheads, provides filtered water in reusable containers and does away with coffee pods, is that enough to mark it as green in your mind? What if it does more? What if it does less?

“An easy way to tell which hotels have already decided it’s important to them that we know their environmental practices, is that they place that information up front on their website,” says Michael McColl, co-founder and director of communications for Ethical Traveler, a nonprofit organization that uses the economic clout of tourism to protect human rights and the environment.

And if guests want to make sure that hotels and lodges know we care about green practices, we need to ask them what they’re doing — to show that we’re interested, and that our dollars are connected to that interest. “We all get there faster if you express what’s important to you,” says McColl.

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TRAVELING GREEN

Getting there

Plan flights: There are no green ways to fly. Aircraft account for 12 percent of all U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions and 3 percent of U.S. total, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The only control is to plan and book your itineraries to limit connections (takeoffs and landings guzzle fuel).

Carbon offsets: Buy carbon offsets for your entire vacation, not just the air portion, from reliable organizations like Carbon Fund (www.carbonfund.org) and Carbon Neutral (www.carbonneutral.com). Your tax-deductible donation, meant to offset your carbon footprint, supports carbon reduction projects. At Carbon Fund, for instance, the recommended donation to offset up to 20,000 miles of flights is $37.86.

Ride sharing: Often in leisure or business, travelers rent cars for one person. Instead, use local mass transportation and ride sharing to get where you’re going. If you absolutely need to rent a car, request a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Staying there

Booking: Find a hotel, resort or home share that matches your priorities. If you can’t find information about their sustainability practices online, call and ask before booking.

Towels and sheets: Read the instructions for the hotel’s policy for linen and towel reuse, and follow it.

Bottles: Skip the bottles of water in your room (even if they’re free) and refill your own reusable bottle. If tap water isn’t safe, bring a filter or ask the hotel for a trusted source of water. Similarly, use water glasses and coffee mugs in your room instead of plastic and paper versions.

Lights out: While it’s the norm in Europe that hotel room lights only go on if activated by a room key (and go off when you leave), it’s not common yet in North America. Turn off the lights when you leave.

Being there

Act locally: Be aware of where your money is going, and try to keep your cash within the local community. Take a tour that employs local guides, for instance.

Bag it: Bring a reusable bag for purchases.

Lend a hand: Vacationing with a purpose is on the rise. Some hotels, lodges and tour operators are equipped to arrange short-term volunteer opportunities in the local community.

Bike share: If your hotel offers bicycles or shuttles, use them. If they don’t, ask if there’s a citywide bike-share program and use those. (Although ask at the hotel front desk if there are specific routes that are intended for bikes or ones that are unsafe.)

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Many major chains and independent hotels operate in-house green programs (Accor Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group and Hilton, for example). If your hotel’s website doesn’t make it clear what its practices are, call the front desk and ask. Decide on your cause and what you won’t compromise on, whether it’s disposal of graywater, composting, in-room recycling bins, low-flow bathroom fixtures, provenance of restaurant food or landscaping practices. The more the property hears from concerned guests, the more the management has a picture of what it will take to keep them.

You can also search for hotels approved or accredited by respectable certification programs, such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the U.S. Green Building Council, which oversees Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

While it’s an easy explanation that hotels will adopt practices that give them pleasant public relations stories and save them money, there are still many that are interested in the larger picture.

The Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort has sustainable elements that include a solar hot water system, variable speed chillers, LED lighting, motion-sensor lighting controls and low-flow plumbing fixtures. A food hydrator composts food waste to repurpose for gardening, and glassware is made of recycled wine bottles. The Hilton Union Square has a recycling program for paper, plastic, tin, glass and aluminum; composts organic waste; allows guests to opt out of daily linen washing; donates excess food and supplies; and conserves energy and water through a variety of practices.

National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World share a strong commitment to sustainable practices and to protecting natural and cultural heritage; they are vetted by a National Geographic sustainable tourism expert who spends time at each property to evaluate operations, meet with everyone from the general manager to the kitchen staff, and ensure that protection of natural heritage, protection of cultural heritage, support for local communities and environmentally friendly practices are daily practices.

On the Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa, 30 miles north of Tahiti, the Brando has ensured that all building materials used are of local or certified origin, renewable or incorporate recycled components. The resort uses a deep seawater air-conditioning system to reduce energy demands and relies entirely on renewable energy sources, including solar power and coconut oil. The Brando has also built and gifted an eco-station to the Tetiaroa Society, the nonprofit organization established to lead the scientific and cultural mission to protect the atoll and to inspire sustainable interdependence.

Feynan Ecolodge in Jordan was designed to operate in harmony with its habitat in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, and is operated in a way that minimizes the impact of tourism on the surrounding natural environment. It generates electricity and heats water through solar/photovoltaic panels, air-dries laundry, uses waste from olive pressing to provide heat, composts, recycles waste, offers water in locally produced clay jars and reusable water bottles, and aids conservation activities in the region.

While the U.N. World Tourism Organization says that approximately 10 percent of all tourism is “ecotourism” where the primary purpose is interaction with nature, there isn’t a reliable measurement of tourists who are so concerned about being mindful of their impact that it drives their travel decisions.

The most important thing, for those who care, is action. Choose properties that make it a priority to follow sustainable practices, and tell them you appreciate what they’re doing. Encourage hotels that aren’t doing enough to do more. And most of all, remember that making environmentally friendly choices on your own during your stay in any destination can have a long-term impact on the environment, and only requires small changes in your behavior.

If you have the excellent habits at home of flicking off the lights when you leave a room, recycling, using non-disposable cups and plates (and skipping straws, unless they’re biodegradable), limiting your water usage and carrying your own beverage container — it shouldn’t be too difficult to continue those habits on the road. Whether you’re at home or away, you’re still on the same planet, and that planet has limited resources.

Jill K. Robinson has been a frequent contributor to The San Francisco Chronicle since 2009. Reporting on adventure travel for The Chronicle has taken her from coastal hiking in California to cenote diving in Mexico to kayaking in New Zealand’s remote Fiordland. In search of stories, Jill has tested a variety of Riviera Maya spa treatments, learned to cook mole poblano in a Puebla kitchen, and cheered for Jimmy Carter during his fishing adventure on the island of Guanaja. Her work also appears in other publications, such as American Way, Every Day With Rachael Ray, Westways, Robb Report and World Hum.